Tramper



Jun/.31,1923- 1,463,221

O. MITCHELL TRAMPER Filed May 4. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Inventor' O. MITCHELL TRAMPER Filed May 4, Y1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor T all whom t may concern:

Patented July` 31, 1923. l,

UNiTgED STArss PATENT Biggi.,

vOLIVER MITCHELL, 0F; BRooKLiNn, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR To THE ratti-ruimt` n COMPANY, oir-DALLAS, TEXAS, nv CoRPoRisiTrorroiaTExAs..y

TRAMPER.

`App1ication filed May 4,

Be it -knownthat I, OLIVER MITCHELL,

citizen of the' United States, residing'at` Brookline, in the county of" Norfolk 'and State of Massachusetts, have inve-ntedfcertain new.` and "useful Improvements in Trampers, of which the following is a specification.'v f i My invention frelates to cotton handling apparatus and particularl `to trampers,

" sogcalled, such as are empyoyed in gin outlits lto trampl or pack the loose lint as it is fed into the baling box of a cotton; baling press in order to express the lair fromthe. cotton, preparatory to its compression intoa bale by a baling press.`

Trampers for cotton vpresses comprise a power operated, reciprocating plunger, movable into and out of the baling box, a charge of loose cotton or lint being fed into the y baling box each time the" plunger isv withdrawn from Athe-latter, and each charge of lint, so fed, is pushed toward the bottom of thel box by the plunger when the latter is moved toward the bottom ofthe box againu As heretofore constructed the plunger ofthe machine tramper had a fixed stroke, and conse uently the lower limit of the stroke was-t e upper limit of the compressed cotton inthe box. The rst effect of the op- I eration of the lplunger was merely to push down the loose cotton lint towardthe bottom of the boxand as the cotton accumulated, it was Still forced down below the lower limit of the plunger stroke. The result was that little pressure was applied to the cotton until a` considerable 'mass of cotton was accumulated inthe box, and the pressure, when applied, was applied to a mass of cotton. I

The problem of cotton trampe-rs is a problem of air expression, to condense the loose cotton by expressing the air from between 1921. 'serial No. 466,828,

must be iiliiOlQlied.VVV It will also" be 'obviou's'lv v` that in all mechanical ftrampershavingv a fixed strok'eplunger, the'compressive action necessary to attain the vdesired air .expresf sion can onlybe had bymass compression.

My new'mechanical' tramper ,aims r to exltail, rather than the use'of large power or force, appliedl at longer intervals to an ac# e cumulation of increments forming a'mass of` cotton. f

In the drawings:

Figurel isa front View of my improved' tramper of the upper'end of the tramper;

Figure 2*' is a detail on n enlarged,,scalev l j e753 Figure 3 iS a detail in plan of the olog-` 1 rand star wheel of F igureQ, on the upper side of the dog, the upper spoke of the star.v

wheel beingin Section; 5

Figure 4 is a cross section ofthel frame side member, shown also in Figure 3;' ,i

Figure 5f is l'a central sectional elevation,

viewed from therightof Figure 1;

`Figure 6 is a plan view of the upper end of the main frame, i'

Figure 7 is av view inelev'ation,

from the right in Figure 1;

viewed Figure 8 is a cross-section, on an enlargedf scale, on line8-8 of Figure'7; n Figure y9 is a lperspective viewp'of the plunger; and f l Figurey lO indicatesy the incremental nas.` i

ture of thensuccessive charges.

I hall describe and illustrate in this speci-'- fication the principle of my mechanisn'il in the best mode in which I have contemplated `applying that principle.` l.

Al feature of my new mechanical tramper Y is that` it avails; of the principle ofi-kinetic f `energy, ,using a relatively v light weight plunger, requiring relatively little power to Il llift it 'at relatively slow speed, andupon 'the 1 air expressing stroke developing great power byr moving the plunger by lgravity into the j bale loox at high speed, the air expressing function being achieved ley-applying to', ak small increment of "cotton the force offa relatively light weight plunger moving at high Speedagainst the cotton.

Owing `to theutilizationfof these prin- 6'5` i" POWGl or force, frequently appliedfnzder y Ato .vertical channel ciples it is feasible to make the entire mechanism of relatively light construction, with consequentlow cost, low up-keep and low cost-ot-'opera'tioir I Another feature is that by the employment of novel mechanism the head room required for installation of my apparatus is less than that required by trampers asheretofore constructed. i l .Qirnother` feature is that my novel mechanismv permits anarrangement and control ogthe `.cycle of loperation of the plunger, wherebylthe plunger -is in thebox only a proportionately short time and out ofthe box a proportionatelylong time7 the signicanoe -ol't which is, that ai'ter the air is ex- .pressedrom a charge ot cotton the quicker the plunger is removed from the bale box the sooner can a new chargejbe delivered into ,thelb'ale box and further, that as the placingot a charge yof light cotton in the box requires a certain time interval, it is necessary that the plunger be out ot the box, in retracted position, tor a relatively long time.

aI-n Figure 1 is shown a front view ot my tramper. The main beams fr support the tramper over the bale box B (Figure Upon the beams is suitably secured and supportedthe main` iframe or the mechanism, made up of two side members spaced apartpand suitably secured in relative position by bolting to thek unit,-which is secured to `the supporting` beams and by cross-,members at the upper end ot the side members and by a` web between the side members of each side.

rlheside members as shown are made up of vertical angle irons 1 connected by a web 11 of 4sheet metal. This construction pro` vides a rigid side member and forms a 12.Y The opposite side members are also connected by cross members 13, which connect the upper ends oit'. the side members and carry upon their under sides hangers 131, which hangers respectively carry stub shafts 132,v axially aligned b'ut.separated as shown, each .shaft having mounted thereon sprocket wheels 2U. Around each sprocket wheel 2O passes an endless sprocket chain 2l which extends downwardly around another sprocket wheel 2.v rlhesproclets 2 are mounted upon two A axially alignedr shafts 22` mounted in bearing-housings, 23., vbolted at the lower vends tov side members 1, and the supporting beams,v the inner ends oi' the shafts being` preferably separated, in .the same manner as-theinner ends of the shafts 182, so that aspace is lettbetween the ends ofshatts 22. The shafts 22 lalso each carrya main gear 24 driven by. la pinion 25, the two pinione 25 being fasten a shaft 26. yinounted in bearingsv in the,bearing-housing 2?which shaft 26 is continuously driven by' a belt (not shown) engaging a'pulley 27 'fast on said shaitl A loose pulley 28 is provided upon which the belt can be shifted when it is desired to stop the machine; f

The plunger-is made up of a head 3, from which rise two stem members 30. Fast upon one ci the stem members 30 and extending transversely toward the other stem member is Va dog d. Cross braces 31 connect the two. plunger stem members 30, to Vgive rigidity to the' structure and the bottom oi the head isformed of slats 32. The plunger stem members 8O are 'fitted to slide within the channels v12i'ormed in the side members (see Figures 3 and 4),*tne dog i .movingfwich the plunger in a ixed pathand passing` between the opposed ends of vthe stubshaitsflat the upper end ci the vertical travel ci the dog and plunger, when the tram-perisin operation. A The dog 4L is preierably made up kor two sides bolted or otherwise secured to the stem 30, and .between these sides is` mounted for rotation a star-wheel 6 the spokes 61 oilwhich at their free ends carry cross or hook members, 62. @ne spo-ke 63, carries no hook member, A brake band 6ft surrounds the hub o'lf the starY wheel 6, and holds the wheel against accidental lmotion, the adjustment being calculated to causethe star wheel to turn stiiliy and to stop and remain in position, except as it may be forced to move by the application ot a designed actuating force. Secured uponl the inner side of cross-mein4 bers 13 and directly above the star wheel 6 are hooks or detentsl.

The two chains 21 carry, mounted between them, actuating `bearing fl-1, Vand when fthe machine is operating the. bearing is revolving continuously in.v an endless path betweenthe endless paths of the chains in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1.' lnthe preferred form oi my machine, whichlr have shownfin the drawings, the chains also, carry rbetween them-l a second actuating. bearing 112 diametrically spaced along the length ot the chains from bearing` 41., n Vv l Y At one side oi the tramper is a source oit cotton supply, usually the condenser' into whiclrthe ginned lcotton passes 'from the gins, and from this supply a chute, ii, leads to theupper end ,of the bale box li, down f-.vhich chute tie; cotton,l slides into the bale box.,V Atthe lower endogl the chute a gate is provided, moving in side guides 51 and provided with dogs'52 whficjlrprd ject above the plunger head 3, into the path .ofthe head, so that, whenthe head is raised', it picks upthe dog's5 2"and (i0 andvraises the gate to permit the de livery of cotton into thel balebox B lbelow the plunger head and', as the plunger de'- scends on its air expressing stroke, the' gate is lowered to close'the lower end ofthe chute while the plunger is inthe bale box,.the

gatestopping when the chu-te is closed and b eing picked up and lifted when the plunger rises.

' The operation is-as follows: The machine being assembled, with stem of the plunger fitting within the channels 12 of the frame 1, and the head 3 below the beams A and over the bale box B, the dog 4will project between t-he chains 21` and in the upward path of the actuating bearings 4l, 42, mounted between the chains. The plunger being in elevated position with the gate` 50 raised, cotton passes down the chute 5 into the bale box B. The first chargeis preferably relatively large, to provide a cushion to re-l ceive the impact of the first stroke of the plunger. The belt is then shifted from loose pulley v28 to fast pulley 27 and the actuating gears and sprocket chains 21 are caused to revolve. An actuating rollerk will accordingly travel upward, as indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, and as it turns around the upper sprockets 2O it will contact with the dog 4 and slightly liftit, and as it wipes along the underside of the dog, will en` counter a spoke of the star wheel, which pro'- jects below `the underside of the dog 4 and will turn the star wheel against the frictional resistance of the brake band 64. As the actuating roller passes downward, the dog will be lowered and the hook 62 on a spoke 61 which has, by the turning of the wheel, been brought into vertical position will engage detents 133 fast to cross members 13 o-f the fra-me and at the saine time another spoke will project below the underside of the dog. An actuating roller again lifts and wipes along the under side of the dog and the operation is repeated until the turning of the wheel brings into vertical position between the hooks or detents 133, spoke 63 of the star wheel, which carried no hook 62. The results is, that when the actuating roller passes away from the dog and downward, dropping the dog, there will be no engagement between the star wheel and the frame hooks or detents 133 and the plunger being unsupported will fall by gravity into the bale box. -As the plunger drops, the gate 50 which is supported upon the upper side of plunger head 3, by the dogs 52, will drop with it, closing the end of chute 5. The fall of plunger 3, 30, will bring the dog 4 to the lower limit of its travel, somewhat above the lower sprockets. An actuating roller will presently engage the dog 4 and lift the plunger to its upper position, the hookless spoke 63 being still in vertical position will pass between the detents 133 and as the actuating roller wipes along the under side of the dog, as it travels about the upper sprockets, it will turn the star wheel 90 and bring into vertical position a hooked spoke 61 and as the dog is lowered by the descending actuating bearing,ja hook 62 will' engage ydetent133 and hang up` the plunger. `In the liftingof the plunger the gate' 50 will be lifted andthe chute 5 opened to deliver cotton into the bale box below the plunger. Successive actuating bearings will successively'turn the star wheel 900 until hookless spoke 63 is again vertical, when the plunger will again drop.

I have shown in the drawings two actuating bearings 41, 42, which are diametrically spaced along the sprocket chains. Slt will be obvious thatwhen one bearing is passing down on upper sprockets 20 the other is just passing up on lower sprockets 2 and will almost immediately engage the dog 4 to lift the plunger. vThis is a great advantage as little time is lost after the plunger has done its work.

In thus y.utilizing the force of gravity a great advantage is gained, since a comparatively light plunger may be employed, re-l quiring only a small power tolift it-'to its 1 upper position, and when the plunger is ref leased the kinetic energy due to the continuous accelerationthroughout its fall, is very considerable. The plunger beingvlight the entire mechanism may be made of light construction in consonance with the` vlight weight ofthe plunger element,` since, as is obvious, when the air expressing strokeof the plunger isdeli-vered, the plunger is not positively connected with the otherrnechan-` set and the great energy of the stroke isl lsuch thatl the air is thoroughly expressed from the first charge. Succeeding charges are of substantially uniform and relatively small quantity and the plunger, as the increments are successively operated upon, is stopped by the gradual accretion with a shorter and still shorter stroke. The first and succeeding layers, in the preferred mode of operation are indicated in Figure 10, where a; is the first charge and am successive increments, each of which is separately and successively subjected to the airexpressing action of the plunger. It will be observed that the lower end of the plunger is formed by slats 32, spaced apart, through which spaces the air within the increments of cotton escapes as pressure is applied.

I have shown and described a starwheel as a means for engaging the ,frame detents,

and this mechanical elementl consider the simplest and most certain means for' the purpose, but it is obvious that other mechanical means might be substituted to accomplish the desired result. lt is also obvious that a star wheel of less or more than four spokes, such as is shown and described, might be employed. l have also described a main frame for my machine made up of two opposed sides, each carrying one of a pair ot chains, but while this construction is preferred l do not intend to limit myselil to such a double structure, as the lifting and release of a gravity plunger might be accomplished by the use of a single standard and a single chain or a double standard and a single chain or a single standard and a double chain.

The gist of' my invention lies in the employment or a gravity plunger operating upon a small amount of cotton, with a constantly decreasing length of stroke, the e'f- 'ect being that the cotton is tramped in detail rather than in mass and the tramped mass in the bale box, at the completion of the tramping operation, is of substantially uniform density from the bottom to the top of the mass.

l Claim:

l. In a gravitytramper; a standard; a plunger movable longitudinally with relation to that standard and having an engag ing device thereon; a rotatable wheel mounted at the lower end or' the standard; a r0- tatable wheel mouned at the upper end of the standard; an endless belt member connecting the rotatable wheels; an actuating bearing mounted upon the endless belt member to engage the engaging device on the plunger by the upward moving reach of the endless belt; a detent to hold the plunger at the top ol' its stroke; means to release the plunger from the detent, to fall by gravity.

2. In a gravity tramper` a standard, a sprocket wheel mounted at the lower end of the standard; a sprocket wheel mounted at the upper end ot the standard; an endless sprocket chain connecting the sprocket wheels, an actuating' bearing mounted upon the sprocket chain; a plunger having an up'- standing stem; a dog upon that stem eX tending into the upward path only oit the actuating' bearing.

ln a gravity tramper, a standard; a sprocket wheel mounted at the lower end or the standard;v a sprocket wheel mounted at the upper end of the standard; an endless sprocket chain .connecting ythe sprocket wheels; a pair of actuating bearings mounted diametrically upon the sprocket chain; a plunger having an upstanding stein; a dog upon that stein entending into the upward path only 'oie the actuating bearings.

4. ln a gravity tramper, a frame made up of vertical, opposed sides; a sprocket wheel mounted at the lower end of each side opposite and in axial alignment with the other sprocket wheel; a sprocket wheel separately mounted at the other end of each side opposite and in axial alignment with the other separately mounted sprocket wheels on each side; an actuating bearing between and connecting the sprocket chains;` a plunger having an upstanding stem; a dog upon that stem, extending between the chains and into the upward path only of the actuating bearing.

5. ln a gravity tramper, a frame; a sprocket wheel mounted at the lower end of the frame; a sprocket Wheel mounted at the upper end of the frame; a detent at the up# per end oit the frame; an endless sprocket chain connecting the sprocket wheels; an ac tuating bearing mounted upon the sprocket chain; a plunger having an upstanding stem; a dog upon that stem extending into the upward path only of the actulttingv bearing; a star wheel mounted upon the dog and having a hooked spoke to co-operate with the detent on the frame and also a hook-less spoke.

Signed at Boston, Mass., this second day of May, 1921.

OLVER MlTC-IELL. 

